Best Consulting Skills

The September issue of ASA news post the article <Consulting Best Practices>. We all believe that there are more important necessary characteristics/skills of a good statistical consultant beyond the technical expertise. The most important characteristics, suggested by practitioners and clients, are the interpersonal skills, the ability to and interest in listening carefully and fully to the client, an appreciation for the client's concerns. Below is my summary notes based on the article.

The purpose of statistical consulting can be as simple as helping understand a perceived problem or as complex as implementing a solution. All the procedures required better communicate effectively at and with all levels of an organization.  “Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Communication is the most important skill in life.” The article list the skills,

• Professionalism
• Time management
• Judgment
• Team player
• Good communication
• Good listening
• Roles and responsibilities
• Involving other consultants
• Reputation

• Skill in structuring task
• Technical knowledge/skills
• Industry experience
• Commitment to clients
• Getting along with clients

Suggestion: An important element of good communication between the client and consultant is defining the boundaries of the work. It’s as important that you indicate what you won’t do as it is to describe what you are committing to do. Of course, once you get into the project, you may see something that wasn’t obvious from the outset. You can always provide optional steps that would extend the range of the original agreement and that may require additional resources.In almost any consulting task, assumptions must be made, as few projects will be so obvious that no assumptions are required. It will be to your credit to clearly identify and state these assumptions and, to the extent possible, emphasize their implications. Knowing what is too much effort to expend for the next improvement step is a valuable attribute of a good statistical consultant.

Some of the tools that can help the communication could be agendas, flowcharts, checklists, and minutes from meetings. Following are several important steps in ensuring meetings are efficient:

• Include the right people
• Set an agenda
• Stick to the agenda
• Follow up the meeting with minutes

Taking and distributing minutes that summarize key points of agreement and disagreement—including action items and next steps—and identify the responsible person and a tentative due date helps move from the meeting to problem resolution.

The most efficient solution may never work if the people who need to bring it about do not benefit in some way from the change. Even more basic, many have an understandable motivation to continue using tried-and-true methods. It may be important to ensure the staff is involved in the development of the new procedure and ‘buys in’ to the new methods.

Finally, never forget that ethical issues undergird all our work. Following accepted ethical practices is a necessary requirement for any statistical consultant.


We will definitely need to learn new knowledge to break the boundaries to serve as the statistical professionals.